Sponsor hits brakes on per-mile tax pilot program

The sponsor of a bill that would create a pilot program to tax vehicles based on mileage plans to table the measure less than a week after it was filed in the House.

Rep. Marcus C. Evans Jr., D-Chicago, told the Journal-Courier on Monday that he would not request that the bill be called for a vote and plans to table it this week.

House Bill 2864, filed Thursday, proposes to create a pilot program in which vehicle owners who join the program pay a charge of $0.021 per mile driven instead of the state motor fuel tax now at 19 cents a gallon.

Evans, who represents the 33rd District, said that now is not the right time for that type of solution to Illinois’ infrastructure funding problems because there is too much misunderstanding surrounding the bill. He never intended call for a floor vote on the legislation until it’s “fleshed out,” he said.

“This is one idea, but it’s not the right idea for right now,” he said.

The funding needed to bring Illinois’ deteriorating roads into good condition is estimated to be around $41 billion over 10 years, according to a 2018 Illinois Economic Policy Institute report on the state’s infrastructure. The gas tax would have to be increased from 19 cents a gallon to 85 cents a gallon to meet that need, according to report estimates.

Evans saw the response to his proposal, which has been in the House rules committee since Thursday, as productive for generating and refining ideas about how to address a problem he said can’t be ignored.

“Even though I live in Chicago, I have an appreciation of infrastructure down state,” he said. “One bridge might be a lifeline for a whole town.”

The idea of a program that meters mileage to tax car owners based on their road use generated debate during the 2018 election after then-candidate J.B. Pritzker said he was open to testing such a program and Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign ran opposition ads on the topic.

Oregon’s mileage-based program — OReGO — was launched in 2015. It, like Evan’s bill, was voluntary and open to a maximum of 5,000 vehicles.

The Oregon program cites a decline in fuel tax revenue as vehicles become more fuel efficient.

Illinois fuel tax revenue has seen a similar decline, dropping from $1.8 billion in 1999 to $1.3 billion in 2015, according to the ILEPI report.

Evans will continue to work on infrastructure issues, which he’s witnessed throughout the state, he said, adding that he, like anyone, wants to feel safe on the road.

“As a country our infrastructure has taken a beating. … That’s not my opinion,” he said.